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BFMO President Wada to Retire

Masao Wada, a 37-year veteran of the Bridgestone group of companies and current president of President of Bridgestone Firestone Manufacturing Operations (BFMO), had taken the decision to retire as of March 1, 2008. Wada will also retire from his positions as executive vice president and member of the Board of Directors of Bridgestone Americas Holding. Succeeding Wada in the role of president will be incumbent BFMO vice president Steven Brooks, whose appointment commences on January 1, 2008 in order to provide for a smooth management transition.

5th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Firestone Mexico to Close Mexico City Plant

Bridgestone Americas Holding subsidiary Bridgestone Firestone de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (BFMX), announced on December 3 that it will close its tyre factory in Mexico City during the second half of 2008. This is a decision the company has described as “difficult”, but one believed to be necessary as “essential expansion of the plant is not feasible.”

In a statement Bridgestone Americas reported: “Due to its location in a metropolitan area, the complexities surrounding the ownership of the underlying land, the plant’s age (the building was constructed in 1937), intense competition from low-cost producers and a shrinking overall market for the products it builds, the company stated that it has no choice but to close the Mexico City Plant.”

4th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Elected to Goodyear Board

James A. Firestone, president, Xerox North America, has been elected to the Board of Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. The election of Firestone brings the size of Goodyear’s board to 13 members. Firestone, 53, is an executive vice president of Xerox Corporation and has led the company’s North American operations since 2004. He has also served as head of Xerox’s channels group and was the company’s chief strategy officer.

“Jim has a wealth of managerial experience with a diverse group of respected companies, including Xerox, IBM and American Express,” said Goodyear Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Keegan. “We are confident that he will contribute significantly to Goodyear’s continued growth.”

4th December 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Close to Announcing Location for New HQ

It appears likely that Goodyear will soon confirm its continued presence in Akron, Ohio with the anticipated signing of a deal to construct a new global headquarters in the city said to be close. The official announcement of Goodyear’s intentions will end several months of speculation as to whether the tyre major will replace its 80 year old premises with another headquarters in Akron or bid its traditional hometown farewell.

During the past few months government and business officials from the town and the state of Ohio have offered Goodyear a host of measures to make remaining in Akron an attractive an option as possible, and while the company has not commented on exactly what has been promised, a company spokesman, Scott Baughman, was quoted in the Akron Beacon Journal as saying Goodyear was “pleased with the progress that has been made with all of the groups involved.”

30th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford Reaches Settlement in Explorer Rollover Lawsuit

The Ford Motor Company has reached a settlement in the well-known class-action lawsuit that claimed the company’s popular Explorer SUV was prone to rollovers. This settlement comes two years after Bridgestone Firestone agreed to pay Ford US$240 million to settle liability over the recall of 6.5 million tyres in 2000 and 2001, a recall that took place in response to a number of fatalities in accidents caused by tread separation.

29th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT OTR Plant Gets OSHA Award

(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s Bloomington, Ill., OTR tyre plant was awarded the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star status. The OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star award is given to companies that have comprehensive safety and health programs with injury rates below the industry’s national average. The Bloomington plant is the sixth in BFNAT’s system to receive the award.

28th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Pitching in to Help Struggling US Farmers

(Akron/Tire Review/sg) Drought-stricken farmers in the US state of Tennessee are receiving help from Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire. Unable to grow sufficient hay for livestock, the farmers faced either paying higher prices or selling off their cattle. In response to this dilemma, BFNAT launched Project Hayride, in which it will bring hay to those farmers. The tyremaker will use its tyre delivery trucks to bring loads of hay from neighbouring states. The trucks will load up on hay after delivering tyres to customers in Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky.

By the end of January, BFNAT said it will have provided Warren County farmers with 680,000 kilograms of hay at approximately the same price they would have paid during non-drought conditions.

22nd November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Former Firestone President DiFederico Dies

(Akron/Tire Review) Former Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. president Mario DiFederico, 86, died early November in Akron. DiFederico was elected to the Firestone board in 1970 and retired as president in 1979. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1947, and immediately started with Firestone.

13th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Supply Manac Trailers in North America

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) has been chosen as the standard tyre supplier for the Manac and CPS brand trailers produced by Canada’s Manac Inc. The Quebec based company operates four trailer manufacturing plants in North America, and builds an extensive line of customised trailer designs for a variety of service applications.

“At Manac, our quality standards are uncompromising, and we expect the same from our business partners,” said Charles Dutil, president and CEO of Manac. “Bridgestone is essential to our commitment to provide our customers with best-in-class value and service.”

9th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

RMA Sets US National Tire Safety Week Dates

(Akron/Tire Review) In the US the seventh annual National Tire Safety Week will be held between April 20 and 26, 2008, the RMA has announced. The event is part of RMA’s “Be Tire Smart – Play Your PART” program. RMA said that National Tire Safety Week participation grew from 15,000 retail outlets in 2006 to 18,500 in 2007. Partners in RMA’s Be Tire Smart program include a wide range of independent tyre dealers, such as American Car Care Centers, Big 10 Tires, Belle Tire, Big O Tires, Discount Tire Co., Expert Tire, Just Tires, Kaufman Tire, Les Schwab, Merchant’s Tire, National Tire and Battery (NTB), Northwest Tire, Peerless Tires, STS Tire and Auto Centers, Sullivan Tires, Tire Factory, Tire Kingdom, Tire One, Tires Plus, Tire Warehouse, Town Fair Tires, VIP Parts, Tires and Service, and many others.

Also supporting the RMA program are non-independents and trade groups such as the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), Pep Boys, Sears Automotive Centers, Firestone Complete Auto Care, GCR Tire Centers, Goodyear Auto Centers, Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express, Costco, Automotive Service Excellence, Tire Industry Association (TIA) and AAA.

9th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Gets Star Billing at Super Bowl

Tyres will be given a high profile during the United States’ most watched televised event thanks to an agreement cemented between Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire (BFNT) and the National Football League (NFL). The deal, announced on November 7, gives Bridgestone title sponsorship of the NFL Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIII, as well as of the “Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime Show” on both occasions.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the Bridgestone brand to the world,” said John Gamauf, president of Consumer Tire Replacement Sales, BFNT. “We’re thrilled to partner with the NFL brand in presenting one of the most high-profile and entertaining programs in all of sports: The Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime Show.”

8th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Americas Officially Opens New Manufacturing Facility

November 7 marks the official grand opening of the first tyre manufacturing facility outside of Japan to utilise Bridgestone’s “BIRD” technology. National, state and regional officials from the Republic of Mexico will join representatives from Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire and Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey (BSMR) at the company’s new plant in Monterrey, in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, to commemorate the occasion.

With a production capacity of about 8,000 tyres a day, the Monterrey plant has generated more than US$200 million in investment to date. As previously mentioned, the facility employs Bridgestone’s new BIRD tyre production system, which stands for “Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development.” According to Bridgestone, BIRD is the world’s first production system for tyres that completely automates all stages of tyre manufacturing, from the initial processing of materials to final inspection of the finished product. Additionally, the manufacturer reports that the BIRD system allows for greater flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs because of its capacity to make several different types and sizes of tyre simultaneously.

7th November 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Manny Cicero Named Alliance President

(Akron/Tire Review) Manny Cicero, former president of both Denman Tire Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire’s OTR unit, has been named president of Alliance Tire USA.

31st October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Falken Promotes Marriott to CFO

(Akron/Tire Review) US tyre industry veteran Gil Marriott has been promoted to CFO of Falken Tire Corp. Marriott joined Falken in April 2001 as vice president of administration and treasurer. Previously, Marriott held executive posts with Bridgestone/Firestone and Yokohama Tire.

9th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Heads onto the Field as Official NFL Tyre

Tyre sponsorship of motorsport events is nothing new but ‘official tyres’ are generally less common in sporting codes that don’t actually involve the use of cars. However the absence of vehicles has proven no handicap to the National Football League (NFL) in the US, who has signed Bridgestone up as its first “Official Tire of the National Football League.”

The multi-year marketing and promotional agreement between the NFL and Bridgestone Firestone North America will see the Bridgestone brand involved in a number of promotional opportunities including title sponsorship of the first regular season NFL game to be played outside of North America.

Under the agreement, BFNT and the Bridgestone brand will join with the powerful NFL brand through numerous exclusive promotional opportunities, including title sponsorship of the first-ever regular season NFL game to be played outside North America. The game, known as the Bridgestone International Series, will be played on October 28 between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors